JP2024007247A - printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress false detection of the height of a recording medium.

SOLUTION: A printing device comprises: a rotating shaft 62 that extends substantially parallel to a support base for a recording medium; a rotating body 61 that includes a flat surface 61a extending substantially parallel to the rotating shaft 62, and rotates around the rotating shaft 62; a detecting body 63 that rotates together with the rotating body 61 and contacts the recording medium on the support base; and a leaf spring 64 that is in surface contact with the flat surface 61a when the detecting body 63 is located at a predetermined initial position; a sensor 66 that detects whether or not the detecting body 63 is located at the initial position; and a moving device that moves the support base in a vertical direction with respect to a recording head. The rotating shaft 62 passes through an inner side R1 of the flat surface 61a when viewed in a normal direction X with respect to the flat surface 61a. The leaf spring 64 pushes the flat surface 61a when the detecting body 63 is located at the initial position.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a printing device.

2. Description of the Related Art Printing devices that can handle recording media of various thicknesses have been known. Such printing apparatuses include those configured such that a support base for a recording medium moves in the vertical direction. Some of such printing apparatuses have a mechanism for measuring the height of the recording medium, and are configured so that the support base can only be moved in the vertical direction within a range where the recording medium and the recording head do not come into contact with each other. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a table that supports a recording medium, a movement mechanism that moves the table in the vertical direction and the front-back direction, a plate-shaped detection member that extends in the left-right direction and contacts the recording medium, and a detection member that moves the detection member back and forth. A printing device is disclosed that includes a fixed member that supports the device so as to be swingable in a direction, a sensor that detects that the detection member is tilted, and a spring (coil spring) that is engaged with the detection member and a wall surface. There is. In the printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the detection member comes into contact with the recording medium while moving the table in the front-back direction, the detection member rotates. The rotation of the detection member is detected by a sensor. Thereby, it is detected that the recording medium is at a height higher than the lower end of the detection member.

In the description of this specification, "detecting the height of the recording medium" refers to determining the vertical position of the support base when the recording medium placed on the support base is at a predetermined position in the vertical direction. Also, registering the vertical position of the support base is also referred to as "registering the height of the recording medium."

According to Patent Document 1, the coil spring engaged with the detection member returns the detection member to its initial state and also prevents the detection member from rotating due to vibration. Ru.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-001004

As described in Patent Document 1, when a detection body of a recording medium oscillates due to vibrations of a printing apparatus caused, for example, by the running of a recording head, erroneous detection of the height of the recording medium may occur. By applying tension to the detection member using a coil spring, it is possible to suppress the above-mentioned rocking of the detection body. However, in the initial state, the coil spring keeps the detection member stationary at a neutral position by balancing the loads on both sides (front and rear) of the detection member in the swing direction, thus preventing the detection object from swinging. The functions to do this are not expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that is less likely to erroneously detect the height of a recording medium.

The printing device disclosed herein includes a recording head that discharges ink downward, a support base that is provided below the recording head, and a support base that is provided above the support surface. a rotating shaft extending substantially parallel to the supporting surface; a rotating body rotating about the rotating shaft while having a flat surface extending substantially parallel to the rotating shaft; a detection body that contacts the recording medium on a table; a leaf spring that makes surface contact with the flat surface when the detection body is located at a predetermined initial position; The recording head includes a sensor that detects whether or not the recording head is being moved, a moving device that moves the support stand in the vertical direction with respect to the recording head, and a control device. The control device includes a movement control unit that controls the movement device to move the support base upward relative to the recording head, and a movement control unit that controls the movement device when the sensor detects that the detection object has moved from the initial position. The height registration unit registers the upper limit position of the support base based on the vertical position of the support base. The rotation axis passes inside the flat surface when viewed in the normal direction of the flat surface. The leaf spring pushes the flat surface when the detection body is located at the initial position.

According to the above printing device, the rotating body that rotates around the rotation axis together with the detection body has a flat surface that is in surface contact with the leaf spring, and the flat surface is pressed by the leaf spring at the initial position. Since the rotating shaft passes inside the flat surface when viewed in the normal direction of the flat surface, the rotating body does not rotate even if it is pushed by the leaf spring and remains stationary at the initial position. Even in this initial position, the force applied to the flat surface of the rotating body by the leaf spring effectively suppresses the rocking of the rotating body and the detection body. As a result, erroneous detection of the height of the recording medium can be suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the printer with the front cover open. FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the contact detection device. FIG. 3 is a schematic right side view of the contact detection device. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a printer. FIG. 3 is a right side view of the contact detection device in a state where the rotating body has moved from the initial position. It is a typical side view of the contact sensing device provided with the rotating body of other shapes.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described here are not intended to particularly limit the present invention, as a matter of course. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to members and parts that have the same function, and redundant explanations are omitted or simplified as appropriate.

[Inkjet printer configuration]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an inkjet printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) 10 according to an embodiment. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, when the printer 10 is viewed from the front, the direction away from the printer 10 is referred to as the front, and the direction closer to the printer 10 is referred to as the rear. Left, right, top, and bottom mean the left, right, top, and bottom, respectively, when the printer 10 is viewed from the front. Further, the symbols F, Rr, L, R, U, and D in the drawings mean front, rear, left, right, top, and bottom, respectively. The symbol Y in the drawing indicates the main scanning direction. The main scanning direction Y is the left-right direction. The symbol X indicates the sub-scanning direction. The sub-scanning direction X is the front-rear direction. The symbol Z indicates the vertical direction. The main scanning direction Y, the sub-scanning direction X, and the vertical direction Z are orthogonal to each other. However, the above-mentioned direction is merely a direction determined for convenience of explanation, and does not limit the installation mode of the printer 10 in any way, nor does it limit the present invention in any way.

In this embodiment, the printer 10 is an inkjet printer. In this embodiment, the "inkjet method" refers to various conventionally known methods including various continuous methods such as a binary deflection method or continuous deflection method, and various on-demand methods such as a thermal method or a piezoelectric element method. This refers to the inkjet type.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 10 is formed into a box shape. In this embodiment, the printer 10 includes a case 11 and a front cover 12. FIG. 2 is a front view of the printer 10 with the front cover 12 open. As shown in FIG. 2, an opening is formed in the front part of the case 11. The front cover 12 is provided so that the opening of the case 11 can be opened and closed. Here, the front cover 12 is supported by the case 11 so as to be rotatable about its rear end. The front cover 12 is provided with a window portion 12a. The window portion 12a is formed of, for example, a transparent acrylic plate. The user can visually check the interior space of the case 11 through the window 12a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the internal space of the printer 10 includes a flat bed 20, a bed moving device 25, a carriage 30, a carriage moving device 35, a recording head 40, a light irradiation device 50, and a contact detection device. 60, and a control device 100 (see FIG. 1).

The flat bed 20 is a support base that supports the recording medium 5. The flatbed 20 is provided below the recording head 40. The printer 10 according to the embodiment is a so-called flatbed type printer. The flat bed 20 is provided substantially horizontally. The flatbed 20 extends in the main scanning direction Y and the sub-scanning direction X. The flat bed 20 is oriented in the vertical direction Z. The upper surface of the flatbed 20 constitutes a support surface 20a that supports the recording medium 5. The shape of the recording medium 5 is not particularly limited, and may have various three-dimensional shapes in addition to a flat shape. Furthermore, the material of the recording medium 5 is not particularly limited, and the recording medium 5 may be made of, for example, wood, metal, glass, paper, cloth, or the like. The flat bed 20 is arranged approximately at the center of the main scanning direction Y in the internal space of the case 11.

A bed moving device 25 is arranged below the flat bed 20. The bed moving device 25 is a device that moves the flat bed 20 in the vertical direction Z with respect to the recording head 40. Here, the bed moving device 25 moves the flat bed 20 not only in the vertical direction Z but also in the sub-scanning direction X. The flat bed 20 is supported from below by a bed moving device 25. The bed moving device 25 includes a sub-scanning direction moving device 25X and a vertical direction moving device 25Z. The vertical movement device 25Z supports the flat bed 20 and moves it in the vertical direction Z. The vertical movement device 25Z is supported from below by the sub-scanning direction movement device 25X. The sub-scanning direction moving device 25X supports the vertical moving device 25Z and moves it in the sub-scanning direction X. However, the configuration of the bed moving device 25 is not limited. For example, the vertical positional relationship between the sub-scanning direction moving device 25X and the vertical direction moving device 25Z may be reversed.

The carriage 30 is equipped with a recording head 40 and a light irradiation device 50 . The carriage 30 is provided above the flat bed 20. The carriage 30 is moved in the main scanning direction Y by a carriage moving device 35. The carriage moving device 35 includes a guide rail 36, a belt 37, left and right pulleys (not shown), and a carriage motor 38 (see FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 2, the guide rail 36 extends in the main scanning direction Y. The carriage 30 is slidably engaged with a guide rail 36. An endless belt 37 is fixed to the carriage 30. The belt 37 is wound around pulleys (not shown) provided on the right and left sides of the guide rail 36. A carriage motor 38 is attached to one pulley. When the carriage motor 38 is driven, the pulley rotates and the belt 37 runs. Thereby, the carriage 30 moves in the main scanning direction Y along the guide rail 36.

As shown in FIG. 2, the recording head 40 is provided on the lower surface of the carriage 30. The recording head 40 is provided above the flatbed 20. The recording head 40 is configured to eject ink downward. The recording head 40 includes a plurality of ink heads 41 to 43. Although not shown, the plurality of ink heads 41 to 43 all extend in the sub-scanning direction X. Each of the plurality of ink heads 41 to 43 has a plurality of nozzles that eject ink toward the flatbed 20. In each of the ink heads 41 to 43, a plurality of nozzles are arranged in line in the sub-scanning direction X.

In this embodiment, the ink ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 40 is photocurable ink. The photocurable ink here is an ultraviolet curing ink that hardens when irradiated with ultraviolet light. The components, characteristics, etc. of the photocurable ink are not particularly limited.

The light irradiation device 50 is provided on the left side of the recording head 40. The light irradiation device 50 irradiates the flatbed 20 with light that cures the photocurable ink. The light irradiation device 50 has a light source (not shown) consisting of, for example, a plurality of ultraviolet irradiation LEDs. The light irradiation device 50 is provided with an irradiation port (not shown) that opens downward and transmits the light generated by the light source.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 10 according to this embodiment includes a contact detection device 60 that detects the height of the recording medium 5. As mentioned above, in the description of this specification, the vertical position of the support base when the recording medium 5 placed on the support base (here, the flatbed 20) is at a predetermined position in the vertical direction Determining the height of the recording medium 5 is also referred to as "detecting the height of the recording medium 5." Furthermore, registering the vertical position of the support base is also referred to as "registering the height of the recording medium 5." When the recording medium 5 placed on the flat bed 20 is at a predetermined position in the vertical direction, the vertical position of the flat bed 20 changes depending on the thickness of the recording medium 5. In order to prevent contact between the recording medium 5 and the recording head 40, the vertical position of the flatbed 20 when the recording medium 5 placed on the flatbed 20 is slightly below the recording head 40 is detected. , it is preferable to register it.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the contact detection device 60. FIG. 4 is a schematic right side view of the contact detection device 60. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the contact detection device 60 includes a rotating body 61, a rotating shaft 62, a detection plate 63, a leaf spring 64, a detected plate 65, and a sensor 66. There is.

The rotation axis 62 is a rotation axis of the rotation body 61 and the detection plate 63. As shown in FIG. 3, the rotation shaft 62 is provided above the support surface 20a of the flat bed 20 and extends substantially parallel to the support surface 20a. Here, the rotation shaft 62 extends in the main scanning direction Y (a direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction X, which is the moving direction of the flatbed 20). The rotation shaft 62 is rotatably supported by a pair of frames 13 provided on the right and left sides of the flat bed 20. The pair of frames 13 both extend in the sub-scanning direction X and the vertical direction Z. The rotation shaft 62 is here divided into a rotation shaft supported by the right frame 13 and a rotation shaft supported by the left frame 13. However, the rotation shaft 62 may be a single rotation shaft spanned between the right frame 13 and the left frame 13.

The rotating body 61 rotates around a rotating shaft 62. Here, the rotating body 61 rotates in the sub-scanning direction X. As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the rotating body 61 has a flat surface 61a cut out from a circular shape centered on the rotating shaft 62 when viewed in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 62 (viewed in the main scanning direction Y). It is formed in a rounded shape. The flat surface 61a extends substantially parallel to the rotation axis 62. The flat surface 61a extends in the vertical direction Z when the recording medium 5 or the like is not in contact with the contact detection device 60. The direction in which the flat surface 61a extends is inclined from the vertical direction Z when the rotating body 61 rotates. Hereinafter, the position of the rotating body 61 and the detection plate 63 when the flat surface 61a extends in the vertical direction Z will also be referred to as an initial position. However, the flat surface 61a may extend in a direction other than the vertical direction Z when the rotating body 61 and the detection plate 63 are in the initial position, that is, when the recording medium 5 or the like is not in contact with the contact detection device 60. good. For example, the flat surface 61a may extend in the front-rear direction (sub-scanning direction X) in a state where the rotating body 61 and the detection plate 63 are in the initial position. Note that the flat surface 61a extends "substantially parallel" to the rotation axis 62, but "substantially parallel" here includes a deviation of, for example, 10 degrees or less.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rotating body 61 is disposed outside one side of the flat bed 20 with respect to the axial direction of the rotating shaft 62 (here, the main scanning direction Y). Here, the rotating body 61 is arranged to the right of the flat bed 20. As will be described later, the detection plate 63 that detects the recording medium 5 is long in the main scanning direction Y, but the thickness of the rotating body 61 in the main scanning direction Y is thin. The rotating body 61 is a thin disc-shaped member having a cutout flat surface 61a.

The detection plate 63 is a member that contacts the recording medium 5 on the flat bed 20 and rotates together with the rotating body 61. The detection plate 63 is fixed to the rotating body 61 here. However, the detection plate 63 only needs to rotate together with the rotating body 61, and may be fixed to the rotating shaft 62, for example. The detection plate 63 is arranged above the support surface 20a of the flat bed 20. The detection plate 63 is a flat member that is long in the main scanning direction Y. The length of the detection plate 63 in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 62 (main scanning direction Y) is longer than that of the flat bed 20 . The right end of the detection plate 63 is connected to the rotating body 61 on the right side of the flat bed 20 (the connection may be indirect via another member). The left end of the detection plate 63 is located to the left of the flat bed 20. The left end of the detection plate 63 is supported by the left rotation shaft 62 here. The detection plate 63 is provided so as to cover the entire flatbed 20 in the main scanning direction Y. When the detection plate 63 comes into contact with the recording medium 5 placed on the flatbed 20 and moving in the sub-scanning direction together with the flatbed 20, it is pushed by the recording medium 5 and rotates in the sub-scanning direction X.

The leaf spring 64 is a member for suppressing the swinging of the rotating body 61 and the detection plate 63. The leaf spring 64 is a flat elastic body extending in the main scanning direction Y and the vertical direction Z. When the plate spring 64 is deflected in the sub-scanning direction X, it generates a restoring force in the direction opposite to the direction in which it is deflected. As shown in FIG. 4, the leaf spring 64 is in surface contact with the flat surface 61a of the rotating body 61 when the detection plate 63 is located at the initial position. The leaf spring 64 refers to an elastic body that can make surface contact with the flat surface 61a of the rotating body 61, and the width of the leaf spring 64 in the main scanning direction Y is not particularly limited. The elastic force of the plate spring 64 is such that when the detection plate 63 is pressed by the recording medium 5 moving together with the flat bed 20, it bends.

In this embodiment, the leaf spring 64 pushes the flat surface 61a in a state where the detection plate 63 is located at the initial position (indicated by force F1 in FIG. 4). The rotation shaft 62 passes inside the flat surface 61a (indicated by range R1 in FIG. 4) when viewed in the normal direction of the flat surface 61a (in the initial position, viewed in the sub-scanning direction X). Therefore, despite being pushed by the leaf spring 64, the rotating body 61 does not rotate from the initial position and remains stationary at the initial position.

The detection plate 65 is fixed to the rotating body 61 and rotates together with the rotating body 61. The detected plate 65 is connected to the lower end of the rotating body 61 and extends downward from there. However, the position and extension direction of the detection target plate 65 are not particularly limited. The detected plate 65 is for detecting that the detection plate 63 has rotated. The sensor 66 detects whether the detection plate 63 is located at the initial position by detecting whether the detected plate 65 is located at the initial position. When the detection plate 63 is not at the initial position, the detection plate 63 is pushed by an object such as the recording medium 5 and is tilted.

Although the type of sensor 66 is not limited, it is a photointerrupter here. However, the sensor 66 may be, for example, a contact-type limit switch. The sensor 66 includes a light emitter 66a and a light receiver 66b. The light projector 66a and the light receiver 66b face each other in the vertical direction Z here. When the rotating body 61 is in the initial position, the detection plate 65 is located between the light projector 66a and the light receiver 66b, and blocks the light emitted by the light projector 66a. At this time, the light receiver 66b does not receive the light emitted by the light projector 66a. When the rotating body 61 moves from the initial position, the detection plate 65 separates from between the light emitter 66a and the light receiver 66b. Thereby, the light emitted by the light projector 66a reaches the light receiver 66b. The sensor 66 determines whether the rotating body 61 and the detection plate 63 are located at the initial position based on whether or not the light receiver 66b receives light. Note that the sensor 66 may detect whether the rotating body 61 or the detection plate 63 is at the initial position without using the detected plate 65.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the printer 10. As shown in FIG. 5, the control device 100 electrically controls the sub-scanning direction moving device 25X, the vertical direction moving device 25Z, the carriage motor 38, the plurality of ink heads 41 to 43, and the light irradiation device 50. connected and controlling their operations. Further, the control device 100 is electrically connected to the sensor 66 and receives a signal transmitted by the sensor 66. The control device 100 is, for example, a computer connected to the printer 10, and may include a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as a CPU), a ROM storing programs executed by the CPU, and a RAM. good. Each part of the control device 100 may be configured by software or hardware. Moreover, each part may be a processor or a circuit. The configuration of control device 100 is not particularly limited.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control device 100 includes a signal receiving section 110 and a medium height registration section 120. Note that the control device 100 may include other control units, such as a control unit that controls printing operations, but their description and illustration are omitted here.

Signal receiving section 110 is configured to receive a signal from sensor 66. By receiving the signal from the sensor 66, the signal receiving unit 110 determines whether the detection plate 63 is located at the initial position.

In the medium height registration section 120, the height of the recording medium 5 is registered so that the recording medium 5 does not come into contact with the recording head 40. As shown in FIG. 5, the medium height registration section 120 includes a first movement control section 121, a second movement control section 122, and a height registration section 123.

The first movement control unit 121 controls the vertical movement device 25Z to move the flatbed 20 upward with respect to the recording head 40. More specifically, the first movement control unit 121 controls the vertical movement device 25Z to intermittently move the flat bed 20 supporting the recording medium 5 upward from the lowest position. The distance that the flat bed 20 is raised at one time is preferably 5 mm to 10 mm. However, the distance that the flat bed 20 rises at one time is not particularly limited.

The second movement control section 122 controls the sub-scanning direction movement device 25X to move the flat bed 20 forward every time the flat bed 20 is moved upward under the control of the first movement control section 121. Under the control of the first movement control section 121 and the second movement control section 122, the flatbed 20 repeats a set of "rising", "moving forward", and "returning backward".

The height registration unit 123 registers the upper limit position of the flat bed 20 based on the position of the flat bed 20 in the vertical direction Z when the sensor 66 detects that the detection plate 63 has moved from the initial position. Specifically, when it is detected that the detection plate 63 is tilted while the flatbed 20 is moving in the sub-scanning direction X, the printer 10 stops the flatbed 20. Subsequently, the flat bed 20 is lowered until the sensor 66 detects that the detection plate 63 has returned to its initial position. After this, the flatbed 20 is moved in the sub-scanning direction X again. Then, the same detection as above is repeated to determine the height of the highest point of the recording medium 5. The upper limit position of the flat bed 20 is a position obtained by correcting the vertical position of the flat bed 20 at this time based on the difference in height between the lower end position of the detection plate 63 and the lower end position of the recording head 40.

However, the method of determining the upper limit position is not limited as long as it is based on the position of the flat bed 20 in the vertical direction Z when the sensor 66 detects that the detection plate 63 has moved from the initial position. For example, the upper limit position may be a position that is a predetermined distance below the position of the flat bed 20 in the vertical direction Z when the sensor 66 detects that the detection plate 63 has moved from the initial position.

In this embodiment, during printing, the printer 10 prohibits the flatbed 20 from being raised above the upper limit position determined as described above. However, the control-inhibited position of the flat bed 20 does not necessarily have to coincide with the upper limit position. For example, the control position where the flat bed 20 is prohibited from rising may be set below the upper limit position.

[Suppression of rocking of detection plate]
Below, a mechanism for suppressing the swinging of the detection plate 63 by the printer 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

Even if an attempt is made to suppress the swinging of the detection member using the tension of a coil spring as in the conventional technology, the coil spring, in its initial state, cannot absorb the load applied to both sides (for example, front and rear) of the detection member in the swing direction. The sensing member is held in a neutral position by balancing. Therefore, a contact detection device that uses the tension of a coil spring has a weak effect of suppressing rocking of the detection member. Furthermore, the effect of returning the detection member to the initial position is weak. Therefore, a problem that the detection member does not return to its initial position is likely to occur due to friction between the rotating shaft and the detection member.

In contrast, in the printer 10 according to the present embodiment, the rotating body 61 that rotates around the rotating shaft 62 together with the detection plate 63 has a flat surface 61a that is in surface contact with the leaf spring 64, and the flat surface 61a is initially It is pressed by a leaf spring 64 at this position. Even in this initial position, the force F1 (see FIG. 4) applied to the flat surface 61a of the rotating body 61 effectively suppresses the swinging of the rotating body 61 and the detection plate 63. As a result, erroneous detection of the height of the recording medium 5 can be suppressed.

The above means that even if the tilt of the rotating body 61 is slight, the rotation of the rotating body 61 is pushed back by a force greater than or equal to the force F1. FIG. 6 is a right side view of the contact detection device 60 with the rotating body 61 moved from the initial position. Although the rotating body 61 is shown at a large angle in FIG. 6, the rotating angle of the rotating body 61 is a small angle due to vibrations of the printer 10 and the like. As shown in FIG. 6, when the detection plate 63 rotates and moves from the initial position, the leaf spring 64 pushes the outer edge 61b of the flat surface 61a. This generates a force F2 that pushes back the rotation of the rotating body 61. The force F2 is larger than the force F1 and is a force that attempts to rotate the rotating body 61 toward the initial position. Therefore, even if the rotating body 61 swings, the swing angle is suppressed. Further, the vibration tends to converge quickly.

[Other effects of the embodiment]
In the present embodiment, the rotating body 61 is formed in a shape in which a flat surface 61a is cut out from a circle centered on the rotating shaft 62 when viewed in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 62 (here, viewed in the main scanning direction Y). has been done. According to this configuration, since the rotating body 61 can be manufactured from a cylindrical material, the rotating body 61 can be easily manufactured. Although some modifications will be described later, the shape of the rotating body 61 is not limited to a cylindrical shape.

In this embodiment, the rotating body 61 is disposed outside one side of the flat bed 20 in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 62. Here, the rotating body 61 is arranged to the right of the flat bed 20 with respect to the main scanning direction Y. Further, in the detection plate 63, the length of the rotating shaft 62 in the axial direction is longer than that of the flat bed 20, and one end of the rotating shaft 62 in the axial direction is connected to the rotating body 61 on one outer side of the flat bed 20. At the same time, the other end of the rotation shaft 62 in the axial direction is located outside the other side of the flat bed 20. Here, the end of the detection plate 63 connected to the rotating body 61 outside the flatbed 20 is the right end, but it may be the left end. Although the rotating body 61 is placed on the right side of the flat bed 20, it may be placed on the left side of the flat bed 20. According to this configuration, since the detection plate 63 is provided so as to cover the entire flatbed 20 in the main scanning direction Y, no matter where the recording medium 5 is on the flatbed 20, the recording medium 5 height can be detected. Moreover, since the rotating body 61 is disposed outside the flat bed 20, there is a high degree of freedom in the shape and size of the rotating body 61. For example, the length (thickness) of the rotating body 61 in the main scanning direction Y may be much smaller than the length of the detection plate 63 in the main scanning direction Y. Further, for example, the diameter of the rotating body 61 may be larger than the height of the detection plate 63.

[Other embodiments]
A preferred embodiment has been described above. However, the inkjet printer of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above.

For example, in the embodiment described above, the rotating body 61 had a disc-like shape with a portion cut out. However, the rotating body 61 may have other shapes. FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of a contact detection device 60 including a rotating body 61 of another shape. As shown in FIG. 7, the rotating body 61 according to this embodiment has a flat plate shape. In this rotating body 61, the flat surface 61a is one surface of the flat rotating body 61. According to this configuration, since the rotating body 61 can be manufactured from a flat material, the rotating body 61 can be easily manufactured.

Note that the flat surface 61a of the rotating body 61 may be partially missing in the middle, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7 (the missing part is shown by hatching). The rotation shaft 62 may pass inside the flat surface 61a that exists intermittently when viewed in the normal direction of the flat surface 61a.

In the embodiment described above, the flatbed 20 moves in the sub-scanning direction X and the vertical direction Z, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The positional relationship between the support stand of the recording medium and the print head is relative, and there is no limitation as to which of the support stand or the print head is moved when changing the positional relationship. The moving device for changing the positional relationship between the support base and the recording head may be configured to move the support base relative to the recording head by moving at least one of the support base and the recording head, It is not limited further. For example, the moving device may be configured to move the recording head vertically and in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotating shaft of the rotating body.

Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments do not limit the present invention.

5 Recording medium 10 Printer (printing device)
20 Flat bed (support stand)
25 Bed moving device (moving device)
25X Sub-scanning direction moving device 25Z Vertical direction moving device 40 Recording head 60 Contact detection device 61 Rotating body 61a Flat surface 62 Rotating shaft 63 Detection plate (detection body)
64 Leaf spring 66 Sensor 100 Control device 121 First movement control section (movement control section)
122 Second movement control section 123 Height registration section

Claims (4)

A recording head that ejects ink downward,
a support stand provided below the recording head and comprising a support surface for supporting a recording medium;
a rotation shaft provided above the support surface and extending substantially parallel to the support surface;
a rotating body that includes a flat surface extending substantially parallel to the rotation axis and rotates around the rotation axis;
a detection body that rotates together with the rotating body and contacts the recording medium on the support base;
a plate spring that makes surface contact with the flat surface when the detection object is located at a predetermined initial position;
a sensor that detects whether the detection object is located at the initial position;
a moving device that moves the support stand in a vertical direction with respect to the recording head;
comprising a control device;
The control device includes:
a movement control unit that controls the movement device to move the support stand upward with respect to the recording head;
a height registration unit that registers an upper limit position of the support base based on a vertical position of the support base when the sensor detects that the detection object has moved from the initial position;
The rotation axis passes inside the flat surface when viewed in the normal direction of the flat surface,
The plate spring is configured to press the flat surface when the detection body is located at the initial position. The rotating body is formed in a shape in which the flat surface is cut out from a circle centered on the rotating shaft, when viewed in the axial direction of the rotating shaft.
The printing device according to claim 1. The rotating body has a flat plate shape.
The printing device according to claim 1. The rotating body is disposed outside one of the support bases with respect to the axial direction of the rotating shaft,
The detecting body has a length in the axial direction longer than the support base, one end in the axial direction is connected to the rotating body outside the one support base, and the other end in the axial direction is located outside the other side of the support base,
The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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